Flashing Folder and a 4SNS Error - too Late ?

Greetings
I recently came home to find my iMac making some rather noisy sounds.
Apps locked and unresponsive.
After restarting I go the flashing folder with the ?.
Inserting the OS X install disk didn't work and neither did a few other things that are suggested with this problem. OS X disk is not very good condition.
Inserting the OS X Applications CD containing the AHT I ran the initial test.
The result was 4SNS/1/40000000: TH00 - 9.00
A quick google shows that this is a system sensor - related to the temperature of the HDD.
During the process of trying to determine the FF? I note that the iMac is very hot and the fan running. Surprisingly as the fan only ever comes on in summer and/or when I'm gaming, which is hardly ever as I use a PC for that.
As I type I'm running a extended test, iMac still very hot, test running for about 25mins so far. Fan has reached the same noise level as when I got home to hear it.
Further google reading suggests that the HDD might be fried?
Silly me, don't back up. And to be honest there really isnt anything that I dont have on the iPad that I cant lose - like family photos. So it's just apps and a few word files that I could live without.
But my questions are:
Is HDD likely to be fried now because of faulty sensor?
Is it too late to back up to another external HDD?
Obviously a trip to the Apple store / authorised repari is in order?
Should I stop this extended test? Not sure what it's going to prove.?
Thanks

Try booting in Safe Mode
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1455
Resolve startup issues and perform disk maintenance with Disk Utility and fsck
I tried booting in Safe Mode by holding down shift while starting, but it just went to the flashing folder with the ?-mark in it. Then I tried to enter single-user mode by holding down cmd-S while starting (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1492), in order to try the fsck-thingy, but still just the flashing ?.
When I start my computer it makes bad noises from the bottom right side. I fear that the HD is broken , it sounds as if it is working very hard, making scratchy and clicky noises.
I also tried using the computer as a FireWire target in order to retrieve some data (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1661). When I bootet the "broken" computer and held down T the FireWire symbol appeared on the screen. But on the host computer I could not find the target computer.
Any more ideas?

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Flashing Folder and Question Mark, no installation disc

Yesterday, Safari froze up while I was it which I have never had happen before. So, I manually shut my Macbook off and tried to restart. When I did so, I received a gray screen with a flashing folder and question mark. From my research, I have found that usually this means that my laptop can't find the operating system and this issue can usually be resolved by inserting the installation disc. Problem is, I bought my Macbook secondhand and never got an installation disc. Does anyone know of a way around this issue? Or if buying the Snow Leopard upgrade for $30 instead of buying a whole new package for about a hundred dollars more might resolve this issue?
Thanks so much,
Kristin

Yes, quite a quandary. You have some options:
1. Call AppleCare and ask for customer support. You can order replacement discs for the model you have.
2. Purchase an OS X retail installer suitable for your model, like Snow Leopard, that you can use to determine if you can repair the hard drive or will nee to reinstall OS X. If the latter and you are using Snow Leopard, then you just install it. The installer will determine whether to upgrade or not automatically. As long as your drive is OK Snow Leopard will not erase the drive so all your files are safe. If you use an earlier version of OS X then you want to choose the Archive and Install option. See the following:
How to Perform an Archive and Install
An Archive and Install will NOT erase your hard drive, but you must have sufficient free space for a second OS X installation which could be from 3-9 GBs depending upon the version of OS X and selected installation options. The free space requirement is over and above normal free space requirements which should be at least 6-10 GBs. Read all the linked references carefully before proceeding.
1. Be sure to use Disk Utility first to repair the disk before performing the Archive and Install.
Repairing the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger.) After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported, then quit DU and return to the installer.
2. Do not proceed with an Archive and Install if DU reports errors it cannot fix. In that case use Disk Warrior and/or TechTool Pro to repair the hard drive. If neither can repair the drive, then you will have to erase the drive and reinstall from scratch.
3. Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When you reach the screen to select a destination drive click once on the destination drive then click on the Option button. Select the Archive and Install option. You have an option to preserve users and network preferences. Only select this option if you are sure you have no corrupted files in your user accounts. Otherwise leave this option unchecked. Click on the OK button and continue with the OS X Installation.
4. Upon completion of the Archive and Install you will have a Previous System Folder in the root directory. You should retain the PSF until you are sure you do not need to manually transfer any items from the PSF to your newly installed system.
5. After moving any items you want to keep from the PSF you should delete it. You can back it up if you prefer, but you must delete it from the hard drive.
6. You can now download a Combo Updater directly from Apple's download site to update your new system to the desired version as well as install any security or other updates. You can also do this using Software Update.

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Hello.
I need help with my Macbook Pro. I get a blue screen with a flashing folder and a question mark at start up. To date I have tried the following:
Apple Hardware (Extensive) Test (Results: "No Trouble Found")
Safe Boot
Reset NVRAM
Reinstall OS X via the internet (I received no discs when I purchased it). I select the StartUp Disk to reinstall. When reinstalling via the internet I get to a point of reinstalling Mountain Lion but it asks me to choose a drive - yet there are no drive options to choose from. Then a window comes up asking me to "Select the system you want to use to start up your computer" but no options appear. When I choose "Restart" a note pops up saying "You can't change the startup disk to the selected disk. Startup Disk could not gather enough information on the selected disk."
The only option is "Restart" from the Apple menu. When I choose that it goes back to the original "Blue screen with flashing folder and question mark on startup."
I have no Time Machine
I can't access the disc utility.
Are there any ideas as to what might be the problem?

Your hard drive has likely failed and needs replaced. That would explain why the system does not display it when you attempt to reinstall the OS via Internet Recovery.

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when i restarted my computer last night a white screen appeared with a flashing folder and a question mark. I'm just trying to determine what the issue is, is the hard drive shot? I've inserted my installation disc to re download the software but it will not recognize anywhere to download the software to...

Check the Disk Utility. If the drive shows up there, repair or erase it. If not, it's either become unplugged or is dead.
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Hi
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There are some aspects of OS X which may be integrated; so
the default CD player software (iTunes) may have to be installed
for the rest of the related software to work; etc. Some parts are
in the standard OSX installation (the discs you have) and others
are additional; such as iWork and iLife newer versions.
{Using another computer's installer discs is often a source of
problems; so perhaps some of your issue is due to not having
the correct universal full installer discs, or not having the ones
which belong to the specific Mac in question.} +Other variables.
There is a way to choose a custom installation during the initial
install and choose to not install some feature sets; such as the
extra languages and some fonts they may require, etc. And
the lists of printer drivers supplied by the Installer can be dealt
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I suspect there is something additional going on in that computer
for you to get a flashing folder, since that indicates an OS X fault.
If that is a standard flashing folder with question mark on startup,
there are some Support documents about that topic here online.
The database is searchable, or a google search can find similar
content and some of those have replies, as in forum interaction.
There may be a disk error or damaged data fork or other bits
in the OS X and these could cause a failed startup and some
other issues. A complete system is easier to install and trouble-
shoot in the regular frame of reference. Then, all the parts are
where the installer is designed to put them, and the Disk Utility
can also see the right bits are where they belong when checking.
The inability to boot from a proper CD in the correct optical drive
may indicate some hardware failure or inadequate drivers, or
insufficiently installed OS. But the computer should be able to
boot an optical media disc designed for the computer prior to
any OS X installation; as that is how a new drive is prepared.
If the correct media disc is available and the hardware is OK
the computer should be able to see certain proprietary discs.
Well, I have things to do offline....
Good luck & happy computing!

Mac book is starting up funny. I have a flashing folder and question mark or just a grey screen. IT at university is backed up all week and said it's the hard drive! Ugh need help in class now will be calling ASAP! Help please.

I get either a grey screen or a flashing folder question mark. IT at my university said it wouldn't be till after the weekend and than still a few days to get it fixed so she told me to try to back it up myself because that's the only sure fire way to ensure I get all my Info. So any hints or help? They did a hardware test and they think it's my hard drive. I did a r+command restart
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Question (?) Mark, Blinking Folder, or Gray Screen at Startup
These are related but not identical issues. Their causes are outlined in Intel-based Mac- Startup sequence and error codes, symbols. Solutions may be found in:
A flashing question mark appears when you start your Mac
Mac OS X- Gray screen appears during startup
In most cases the problems may be caused by:
Problem with the computer's PRAM - See Resetting your Mac's PRAM and NVRAM.
Boot drive's directory has been corrupted - Repair with Disk Utility.
Critical system files are damaged or deleted - Reinstall OS X.
The disk drive is physically non-functional - Replace the hard drive.
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The main difference if you are using Lion or Mountain Lion is that you must first boot from the Recovery HD:
Boot From The Recovery HD:
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If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
2. Reinstall Snow Leopard
If the drive is OK then quit DU and return to the installer. Proceed with reinstalling OS X. Note that the Snow Leopard installer will not erase your drive or disturb your files. After installing a fresh copy of OS X the installer will move your Home folder, third-party applications, support items, and network preferences into the newly installed system.
Download and install Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1.
Reinstalling Lion/Mountain Lion Without Erasing The Drive
Boot to the Recovery HD: Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
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Have a gray screen with a flashing folder and no original CDs what can I do.

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My computer is not working, is my personal data lost?
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Flashing folder and question mark on start-up... again.

I took my iMac in about two weeks ago because it froze, I did a hard restart, and when it booted back up it showed the flashing folder with a question mark. The guy who worked on it said my hard drive got messed up, and put in a new one. I just got around to turning on my computer, and it's doing the exact same thing, even though it has a whole new hard drive. The only difference is, now when I insert install disc 1 to run disc utility, the hard drive actually shows up in the program, when it never did before.
Am I being a complete dunce and not doing something right?

Extended Hard Drive Preparation
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It seems more poor attention to testing again, as per the Wifi issues.

Wifiguru that doesn't seem to relevant to this thread but -
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Message was edited by: SugarFree13

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My 2006 macbook won't boot and I can't see it's hard drive on my imac when in target mode. I can reverse the target mode and run the imac from the macbook but still don't see the macbook hard drive. I have the OS install disk it shipped with but the optical drive doesn't seem to work. In target mode (with the macbook as host and with the install disk in the imac) I've tried to boot from startup disk but can only see the imac's drive. I'm guessing the hard drive is dead but would I be able to use it as a host with a dead hard drive? Any tips?

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From the sounds of it, your hard drive is dead. Whenever you get the folder with the question mark. it indicates that the computer cannot find an operating system. Your operating system is installed on your hard drive. For some reason, your machine cannot find the hard drive. Most hard drives last from 3 to 5 years before they fail. Put your OS X install disk in the drive and boot from it by holding down the "C" key while turning your computer on. You can then get to the disk utilities and see whatyou machine reports for drives. If your hard drive does not show up, that's a good inication your gard drive has gone south. If you are somewhat handy with computers, you can probably install a new hard drive yourself. If you have access to another computer go to ifixit.com where you can find all kinds of info and videos on repairing and updating your mac. I wish I had better news for you, but I'm afraid your hard drive has bit the dust. I went through the same situation with my 2007 black macbook I do hope you had all your files, etc. saved on a backup disk because it is very difficult and expensive to retrieve files from a dead hard drive. Good luck and let us know how you make out.

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I have a flashing foldere and question mark symbol at startup

I had that problem about half a year ago. Your computer is not detecting the hard drive. Either the hard drive cable is dead or the hard drive is dead/corrupted. Did your computer have any problems prior to this?

Flashing Folder and a 4SNS Error - too Late ?

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